GFL: Adler Crash In Braunschweig

A week after winning the BIG6 Euro Bowl Championship against the reigning German Champion New Yorker Lions Braunschweig, the Berlin Adler lost by a landslide 7-56 in the GFL against their arch rival and slipped to fifth place in the GFL North Division – one place behind the last playoffs spot.

After claiming Game MVP honors a week earlier, Adler QB Darius Outlaw had a black Saturday in the second Lions-Adler match-up in two weeks. Always on the run, his cleats seemed too short for the wet and heavy ground in Braunschweig’s Eintracht stadium. Inexplicable is the number of incomplete passes he threw, considerably above his average play. Three of his turnovers, two interceptions and a fumbled snap, led to Lions points on the scoreboard.

The Adler lost that game against the current number one team in the GFL North Division in the first quarter already. A punt, an interception and a fumble on their first three drives were turned into 21 points from the Lions offense. A 75 yard touchdown pass from Adler Quarterback Outlaw to WR Daniel Vöhringer (PAT Philipp Andersen) was one of the few Berlin highlights in this game. At the end of the first quarter Berlin’s starting center Erik Seewald had to leave the game due to injury.

The second quarter was like a copy of the first. Lions quarterback Casey Therriault found Finnish receiver Tommi Pinta for the second time this day in the endzone to raise the score to 28-7. The Lions spent more than 7 minutes on their next drive that ended with a David McCants rushing touchdown. Not only did the Adler suffer more points on the scoreboard, they also lost one of their defensive leaders in linebacker Rory Johnson. That not being enough, backup center Patrick Neff had to leave the turf as well, after being ejected by the referee.

For the rest of the game the Lions offense took their foot off the gas pedal. Nonetheless they scored tree more touchdowns, two by their defense with an interception return and a fumble return. A touchdown pass from Braunschweig’s backup quarterback James Peterson sealed the highest Adler loss since the inauguration of the German Football League in 2001.

Quotes

Troy Tomlin, New Yorker Lions Head Coach: „Our offense and defense performed really great today. If we keep on working like this, we’ll reach our first goal, to have as many home games in the playoffs as possible. I didn’t expect, that the Adler were missing so many players. But we will see them definitely again in Berlin in a few weeks and later in the playoffs.“

Kim Kuci, Belrin Adler Head Coach: „We knew what to expect.Today the Lions were better in all parts of the game. Players and coaches were better prepared and taught us a lesson. The ejection was unnecessary. But we can still become the second best team in the North and will be better positioned next week.“

Darius Outlaw, Berlin Adler Quarterback: „Injured players are never an excuse. Today our O-Line, receivers and I didn’t play well together. Braunschweig’s defense is really good, I mentioned that last week already. The loss of our starting center hurt us a lot – the center is the heart of our offense. And we even lost to centers today!“

Johnny Schmuck, Berlin Adler Offensive Coordinator: „We knew, we would have to step up, when facing the Lions again. Unfortunately we couldn’t. We’re not deep enough and relatively unexperienced. We couldn’t handle the pressure, when playing the Lions in the GFL. We made every mistake possible – now we have to learn from our mistakes. Many of our younger players don’t have that many experiences yet. Self-pity won’t get us anywhere. Kiel next week will be tough work.